Testing, practices for Chooks 3x3 underway

The faces of 3x3 basketball in the Philippines: Troy, Alvin, Joshua, Santi.

The next step for the return of competitive 3x3 basketball in the Philippines took place this week, with eight teams having gone through the first round of polymerase chain reaction (PRC) testing at the Philippine Children's Medical Center in Quezon City.

Monday saw Zamboanga City-Family's Brand Sardines, Zamboanga Peninsula Valientes, Gapan-Chooks, and Bacolod-Master Sardines undergo testing, while Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, Pasig-Sta. Lucia Realtors, Palayan City Capitols, and Porac-Big Boss Cement Green Gorillas had their tests on Wednesday.

The remaining teams: Bicol Volcanoes, Sarangani Marlins, Val City Classic, and an unidentified team, will have their respective tests either on Friday or Monday next week.

League commissioner Eric Altamirano shares, "Nagkaroon kami ng staggard testing. Yesterday, four teams tested then today we had another four teams. So staggard din 'yung pag-practice ng teams."

Zamboanga City, Gapan, and Bacolod all proceeded to have their first practices at the UP Epsilon Chi Gymnasium on Wednesday, with ZC's quartet of Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Leonard Santillan, and Troy Rike opening theirs at 10am. Gapan's Franky Johnson, Chris de Chavez, Karl Dehesa, JR Alabanza, and Chico Lanete had theirs at noon, with Bacolod's Alfred Batino, Anton Asistio, Chris Lalata, Robin Rono, and Choi Ignacio capping things at 3pm.

Teams have to go through protocols before they commence with their respective practices. A rapid test was conducted first, and once a negative test was obtained, they then proceeded to sign up with GET Philippines' contact-tracing application.

League owner Ronald Mascarinas shared his appreciation to the University of the Philippines and GET Philippines for their role in getting the league off the ground during the pandemic. He shares, "It's during this first week where we will see if there are things that we can adjust with our system before we get back to the games itself."

The league hopes to secure an additional practice facility once all teams have been tested. In addition, they are hopeful to have the President's Cup start on October at the bubble inside the INSPIRE Academy in Calamba, provided the Inter-Agency Task Force gives the go-ahead.